I wrote a lot of pieces in 2020! As we close out the year, I want to share a short list of my favorites. (thread)

In March, while we all watched in horror as the Trump administration botched the initial response to the pandemic, I wrote for @Independent about the bizarre and unjust access many healthy celebrities gained to COVID tests, which were quite scarce. https://t.co/jdKj5CIALt
In April, when it was apparent Joe Biden was on his way to winning the nomination, I wrote for @washingtonpost on why progressives should have optimism about a Biden White House. https://t.co/Sw5aPZiMLV
In June, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling affirming employment protections for LGBTQ people. It's cause for celebration, but as I wrote for @Cosmopolitan: this is a mere fraction of LGBTQ equality. We *must* pass the Equality Act. https://t.co/UuZFxLAVrs
That same month brought controversy as J.K. Rowling seemed to be completely unaware of the violence and discrimination faced by trans and non-binary people. So, I wrote about my own experiences in that vein for @USAToday in the hopes of educating folks: https://t.co/kYqvRukfOs
In September, it was reported that Trump insulted American war dead, calling them "losers" and "suckers". I wrote for @USAToday about my experiences on a casket team at Dover. This is the most widely read piece I've written anywhere. I'm quite proud of it. https://t.co/7xwjGWRXPt
In October, SNL gently mocked Joe Biden about LGBTQ issues under the assumption he's old and uninformed. In response, I wrote for @USAToday about his strong history on LGBTQ rights and why his administration will be the most pro-LGBTQ ever. https://t.co/AfwGlN0CRU
Election Night brought a lot of anxiety to so many folks, but in the days afterward, it was pretty clear that LGBTQ candidates performed remarkably well, particularly trans and non-binary candidates. I wrote about it for @Independent: https://t.co/ZXvWKhgRxF
Finally, I wrote about the happiest day in recent memory: when news outlets universally (and finally) declared Joe Biden the President-elect and Kamala Harris the VP-elect. Knowing the tough work ahead of all of us, I took a moment to celebrate. https://t.co/WXJ60bUNpM
If you like all this, I've just started a Substack for 2021. My dream is to make a living from writing someday. But first, I'd like to earn your paid subscription, which is why it's free to sign up. And if you choose a paid subscription, THANK YOU: https://t.co/NIxt4FEL6K

More from Twitter

This is why I'm not a critic of "cancel culture." It's crucial to impose social costs for the breech of key social norms. The lesson of overreaction is that we need to recalibrate judgment to get it right next time, not that we need a lot more bad judgment in the other direction.


Obviously, people will disagree about which norms are important, about how bad it is to violate them, and thus about how severe the social cost ought to be. That's just pluralism, man, and it's good.

It's important to openly talk through these substantive differences, which is why derailing these conversations with hand-waving moral panic about "cancel culture" is obnoxious and illiberal.

Screaming "cancel culture!" when somebody pays a social costs other people have been fighting hard to get others to see as necessary is often just a way to declare, with no argument, that the sanction in question was not only unnecessary but in breach of a more important norm.

It's impossible to uphold social norms without social sanctions, so obviously anti-cancelers are going to want to impose a social cost on people they see as imposing unjustly steep social costs on others.
1/ Meta thread about "Going Pro" on Twitter.

I've been a Twitter power user since 2008 or so. Long time.

I've watched it change from an impromptu conversation or watch party platform to a place for people to build their professional reputations and network.

2/ In many ways it's matured into a more effective professional platform than LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is (mostly) about collecting the professional contacts you've met.

Twitter is a place to meet new people.

That much hasn't


3/ What also hasn't changed is its power for networking.

This is particularly useful if you break out of your echo chamber and talk, build relationships with people doing tangentially related things.

You're bricklaying and with patience it pays off.


4/ What has changed is a growing population of people being *intentional* about the use of Twitter for their professional lives.

Observations on what's working for them:

5/ They "Build in public" - sharing behind the scenes perspectives on whatever it is you're doing professionally.

What do people not know about what you do?

Stick within your expertise, with focus, where people see you are an authority - that’s where you grow a following.

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